GULF SHORES, Alabama -- Dakota, Vice, Matjo and Axel are sweethearts off the field, just don’t mess with them when they’re training for the police dog field trials.

As police service dogs for the Gulf Shores Police Department, these incredibly fit, four-legged pups can outrun, jump higher and attack and sniff out the bad guys faster than any super hero.

The foursome will be competing with more than 60 dogs in the Region One U.S. Canine Association Police Dog Field Trials, which Gulf Shores police are hosting Monday through Friday at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex off Baldwin County 6.

A public demonstration will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday and spectators are urged to leave their pets at home, said Officer Joe Taylor, the K-9 handler for Dakota. Need we say more?

"These dogs are very social, but when they are at work, it’s totally different," Taylor said.

He and the other K-9 handlers take the dogs home to their families after work. The officers and their dogs include Cpl. Greg Bobo and Matjo, a German shepherd; Officer Jeremy Perry, and Vice, a German shepherd; and Officer Chris Bagby and the baby, Axel, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois.

The competition will come from Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, as well as Fairhope and Loxley police departments. The dogs will be tested in obedience, agility, suspect search, area or evidence search, criminal apprehension and criminal apprehension with simulated gun fire ( a gun with blanks).

The winners will compete in the national field trials in October in Punta Gorda, Fla.

"We’ve seen the competition," Taylor said. This week they watched the No. 3 dog in the nation and his handler from Lake County, Fla., practice in Gulf Shores. "Those dogs look like robots," he said.

Axel, Dakota and Vice will compete in the novice category since this is their first field trial. "They all have a good chance to place," Taylor said.

The field trials also serve as the annual certification course for police service dogs, Bobo said. "This is probably the toughest certification I’ve ever seen," he said. He was a K-9 handler in the regional competition in Pensacola in 2008.

The dogs come to the police departments with basic obedience training and some bite work, but then require a 400–hour course to be "street ready," Taylor said. "The biggest part is training them to trust us."

Typically, the dogs and their handlers train about 20 hours a month, mostly in their off time. But the city does allow some on-duty time for training, especially while getting ready for the field trials, the officers said.

The agility and obedience categories may be the hardest in the competition, according to Taylor. "Keep in mind, there are no leashes allowed. And you can’t touch the dogs."

The dogs are daily crime-fighters, and the K-9 unit also helps other agencies when dogs are needed, such as the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office and Orange Beach police, according to Bobo.

Often the public wants to pet the dogs, and Taylor says make sure to ask first. "If the dog is on a leash and the blue light on the car is on, don’t ask. We’re working."

The officers all insist the dogs are sweet and friendly. Except maybe for Matjo, the oldest, who can get cranky. Or as Taylor says, "he’s just misunderstood."